Chapter 2
The next morning, I woke with the feeling of the warm sun on my face. I couldn't feel Zelda in my arms anymore; she either rolled over or she awoke before I did. I sat up in bed and looked at the spot to my left. Zelda had rolled out of my arms in the night and now she silently cuddled her pillow to her face; she looked so beautiful when she slept. I smiled and wrapped my arm around her waist while kissing her cheek. Her eyes fluttered as she awoke to my gentle kiss.
"Link?" She sleepily asked.
"Hello my sweet Princess. It is time to rise." I gave her another sweet kiss on her lips. Just then, a knock on her door alerted me. A Hylian soldier stepped through the door and saluted our princess.
"Good morning Your Highness and...Great Hero." I waved awkwardly. "Breakfast is awaiting you in the dining hall Your Highness."
"Very good. My escort and I shall be along shortly." The soldier bowed and closed the door behind him. "Shall we change and head to the dining hall for breakfast?"
"Your wish is my command." I rose and walked over to the chair where I had left my hero's tunic. "Zelda, where is my tunic?"
"The laundryman must've taken them to be washed. I asked him to take care of that before we went to sleep. He hasn't returned them yet I see. And one more thing Link." She dashed to her drawers and pulled out a dress and a few other girlish clothing pieces and headed out the door.
I was stuck in my night clothes; I didn't want to necessarily to ride back to Ordona in these clothes. The laundryman peeked in the threshold and held out my clothes and gear out to me before I could consider looking for clothes. "I took the liberty of giving your weapons and such to the weaponry polisher. Your shield needed buffing."
"Thank you very much." I took my clothes and gear and he closed the door and left me to get dressed. The green tunic that was given to me after I saved Faron the light spirit was that of the chosen hero. I had to admit that I'd grown quite attached to it but it has been on me for a very long time. It smelled so fresh and clean and the fabric felt so much softer than it had the first time. I put my boots on last and walked to the dining hall. An elegant breakfast had been set on the table; fruit fresh from the gardens around the palace, fresh baked bread from the bakery by Telma's bar, and even eggs from the farms of Kakariko.
"How does everything look?" Zelda asked me as she stood at the head of the table. I pulled her chair out for her to sit and offered her my hand to help her to her seat. She took my hand and gracefully sat down. I pushed her chair in and lowered my lips to her ear.
"You look beautiful and the food looks delicious." I took the seat next to hers and waited for her waitors. They placed in front of me delicious eggs, a roll with jam made from the strawberries in the market and freshly squeezed orange juice. Zelda and I ate breakfast in silence; being a gentleman and a lady, we didn't speak with our mouths full. The mailman burst through the doors at that moment, frantically running to my side screaming. "What is it?" I asked.
"I've got a letter for you Mr. Link. It is a letter from Fado. Well my buisness is concluded, onward to mail." He whisked back out the door and the doors slammed behind him.
"Who's Fado?" Zelda asked me.
"My boss back at the Ordon Ranch, where I live. I think I know what this letter is going to say."
"Would you mind reading it aloud?" She asked me.
"Sure. It says, 'Dear Link, I know you're probably busy in Hyrule but I was wondering if you could come to the ranch and rangle the goats into the barn for me. I don't think they'll ever listen to me again. I would appreciate it bud.' Signed Fado."
"Would you mind if I came with you?" Zelda suggested. "I think we could have fun riding together and I'd love to see your village."
I smiled lovingly, "I'd love that. I would love to introduce you to the people I care about most. I'll fetch your horse after breakfast. Afterwords, would you like to go on a picnic?"
"That sounds wonderful. So it shall be." I hurried to the royal stables and fetched Zelda's horse, Maybelle. Zelda met me in front of the South gate and I helped her onto her horse. I called for Epona who burst out of the stables and halted right in front of me. I mounted Epona and Zelda and I rode for Ordon. We were in no hurry; we lightly walked the whole way talking and giggling with each other. It was so nice that we could spend this time together. We finally reached Faron Woods.
"We should probably hurry now. If Fado let one of the goats go, I could get in serious trouble with the mayor."
"Absolutely." We kicked our horses into a run and made our way through the forest, across the bridge, and into Ordon. Epona and Maybelle slowed to a walk once more as we entered the village. The kids were playing in the stream while the birds chirped around them.
"Hey kids, come here for a second." I called. "There's somebody very important I want you to meet." Collin, Talo, Malo, and Beth rushed over to Epona as I dismounted her. Zelda placed her hands on my shoulders as I helped her off of Maybelle. "Guys, this is Zelda, she's the Princess."
The kids gazed in amazement at the sight of her; I couldn't blame them because she was so beautiful. "Nice to meet you Your Highness." Collin said. "My name is Collin. This is Talo and Malo, they're brothers. And this is Beth."
"Hi." The three of them said.
"It was lovely to meet you four. Link has told me all about you; you're all very special to him and he's very special to you." Zelda shook their hands and turned to me. "I would love to meet the rest of your village."
"Why don't you wait for me in the shop while I herd the goats?"
"I can show her where it is. This is way Your Royal Highness." Talo said. The four of them lead Zelda to Cera's shop. Maybelle stayed behind while Epona and I went up to the Ranch. Ten minutes later, the goats were in the barn and Fado was thanking me for a job well done, once again. He followed me into the village once he heard that I had brought the Princess back with me. Bo was standing on his porch when Epona and I strolled down the hill.
"Hello there m'boy. I trust the goats were put away without any trouble?" Bo said.
"Yes sir Mr. Mayor. Link here does a fantastic job with putting those rascals away." Fado boasted. "I'm sure glad I hired him."
"Yes. I'm sure when you are too lazy to do it, Link gets it done in better time than you ever did." Bo said.
"I knew it." I exclaimed. Ilia came out of the house at the sound of my return.
"Hi Link. Where are you off to now? Finally getting to go home?"
"Actually, someone very special is waiting in the..."
"Who's horse is that?" Ilia interrupted. I saw that Maybelle was still standing in front of the store, Zelda must have lead her there. "It looks like one of the palace horses."
"So, you brought her with you did ya?" Bo asked, winking at me. He must not have been angry with me for breaking his daughter's heart. "Good for you bud. You shouldn't keep her waiting you know." The realization finally hit and Ilia stormed off. She sat at the dock behind Talo and Malo's house, and kicked her feet in the water. I ignored her; she knew how I felt about Zelda, the least she could do is stop acting so jealous.
Bo, Fado, and I hurried to the general store to find Cera and Zelda laughing. "Oh Link, there you are. I trust your task is finished?" Zelda greeted.
"Yes Zelda. I'd like to introduce you to the Mayor of Ordon, this is Bo." I said. He bowed politely before her. "And this is my boss, Fado." Fado did as Bo had. "And there was one other person but she decided to sit by the pond."
"It was wonderful to meet you all. Link has told me wonderful things about all of you. I'm sure you all know how wonderful Link is and all the things he has previously done for Hyrule."
"Yes Your Highness. We've looked after Link ever since his parents died and he is very dear to us. We humbly ask that you take care of him now as I'm sure the two of you will be very happy together." Bo said.
"I will do everything in my power to keep Link happy. That I assure you."
"You haven't met my parents yet Princess. My house is just this way." Collin interrupted. He whisked her out the door while I followed behind. Zelda grabbed my hand and we walked together to Rusl and Uli's house. "Father! Mother! Come quick, the Princess has come to see us." Rusl and Uli rushed out of the house and stopped on their porch.
"Hello Your Highness. It is so nice to meet you in person my lady." Rusl said.
"The pleasure is all mine good sir. You are Link's mentor?"
"Yes. I tought that boy everything he knows. He's like a...third son to me." Uli managed to bow while holding their new daughter in her arms. Zelda admired the baby in her arms and I couldn't help but glance towards Talo's house. No doubt Ilia was still there sulking; I at least wanted her to know that I was truely in love with Zelda and that I didn't break her heart for no reason.
"Zelda, why don't we go my place? We can make the preparations for the day."
"Oh yes. Please forgive me but I can't stay longer. Link and I have made plans for the afternoon. It was lovely to have met you." I grabbed her hand and we strode back to the horses. We lead them up the hill towards my house and Ilia came through the path from the woods.
"Ilia? I thought you were at the dock." I said to her.
"I was. But while you were parading the princess around I went to the spring. I don't have to answer to you Link. Hello Your Highness." She bowed, gave Epona a quick pat and kiss, and then shoved past me to the village.
"That was Ilia I presume?" Zelda asked me.
"Yeah. She's pretty upset with me. But I only said that I had feelings for you, not her. I wanted her and I to continue to be friends but, I guess she's too angry at me." I said. We parked the horses once more and I helped Zelda off of her horse, this time I held her longer and my eyes met hers. I pressed my lips to hers. She recieved my kiss willingly and wrapped her arms around my neck while mine stayed wrapped around her waist.
We broke the kiss and climbed up the ladder into my house. Things had gotten a little messy but then again, I wasn't home to clean up and I wasn't expecting my royal girlfriend to show up either. "Sorry about the mess sweetheart; I have been way too busy to keep up the cleaning in here."
"It's quite alright. What can I do to help?" She asked.
"You can..." I thought for a moment. Did I really want my royal girlfriend to search for anything in my untidy house? Did I really want to piss off the princess by telling her she shouldn't do any work because she's a princess? "What would you like to do?"
"Well, I suppose I could pack the picnic basket. If you don't mind."
"Well Zelda, to be honest..."
"Did you want to do it?"
"No if you want to you can but...um...well...I don't mean this in a bad way but..."
She pressed her soft finger to my lips and cut me off in my idiotic rambling. "It's okay Link. I know what you're going to say and it doesn't upset me. I may be the princess of Hyrule but if you remember, there was a time when I loved to get my hands dirty. If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like to stop letting everyone do everything for me and start doing things for myself again. Okay?"
I smiled and removed her hand from my lips and held it to my heart. "That is one of the ten thousand reasons that..."
"LINK!" Talo cried.
"Uggh." I fetched the pinic basket and handed it to Zelda. "The kitchen is that way. I trust that you will find something perfect to make for lunch. I'll go see what the kids want." I kissed her cheek and went back down the ladder to the kids.
"Hey Link, we wanted to say we're sorry for saying what we did about Ilia." Talo said.
"It's okay you guys." I said. "Is that all?"
"Um, could you just show us one more time how to use a sword?" Talo asked.
"We're playing sword fighters and we want to make sure we're doing it right." Malo said.
"Of course he means the two of them are playing while Colin and I watch." Beth said.
"Listen you guys, I'll humor you until Ze...I mean the princess is ready to go."
"Go where? Are you guys going on a date?" Colin asked.
"How romantic." Beth cried.
"Well.." I caught Ilia's eyes as she once again raced to the spring, she was there at least twice today. I was sure by the look in her eyes that she heard everything so I stuck with the truth. "Yes, it's a date. So, what do want to see first?"
Ilia rushed back to the spring, probably crying at this point, and I focused on the kid's silly requests. I showed them how to stab, swing, lunge, and swipe an opponent. Zelda was still making lunch so I decided to show them a few of the secret moves I learned from the golden wolf. I showed them the ending blow, the shield attack, the back slice, the helm splitter, the mortal draw, the jump strike, and the great spin. "Now remember guys," I cautioned, "Only use safe things to hit each other with so no one gets hurt. I wouldn't ever show you guys these moves if I didn't think that you wouldn't abuse them. They are really dangerous moves and I want you to promise me, you'll be safe when you do them."
"We promise." They swore. I smiled.
"Link." Zelda called. "Are you ready darling?"
"Yes sweetheart, I'm ready." The children giggled to themselves and I shushed them. I held out my arms as Zelda started to climb down the ladder. I pulled her the rest of the way down and turned her to face me. I tried to open the picnic basket but she lightly slapped my hand before I touched it.
"It's a surprise. You can't see it yet." She said.
"Oh really? And what if I sneak a peek?" I teased as I wrapped my arms around her.
"I'll think of something." She giggled and kissed me. The children laughed their heads off and chorused an "OOOOOHHHHH!"
"Alright you four, back home right now." I roared playfully and chased them back to the hill. The screamed and giggled the whole way into the village. I laughed and rejoined Zelda and the horses. "I've got a great picnic spot; it'll be absolutely beautiful."
"Sounds wonderful." We slowly rode for Faron Woods; the spot I chose was by the Faron Spring. I spent many nights siting on those banks, watching the sun set over the horizon. Nothing beats being able to share my favorite place with my favorite girl. "So Link, do you think your friend Ilia will be alright?"
I helped Zelda unpack the basket. "I'm sure she'll get over it. She never stays mad at me for very long." I saw Zelda's smile drop with her gaze. "What is it?"
"I can tell she honestly cares for you. Are you sure this is..."
"Zelda, listen to me." I interrupted. "It's you and me, that's it. No one else can say anything. I told Ilia that I only care for her as a friend because it's true. I didn't say that just because I was trying to get rid of her or anything. I honestly meant that I only have feelings for you. No one else." I emptied the rest of the picnic basket and began to pile a few things onto a plate. I handed it to Zelda and smiled. "I can't wait to try what you made."
She smiled back and I made a plate for myself. We ate in silence once more with only Faron and the horses looking on. The warm afternoon provided the perfect romantic setting for what I was about to say. "Zelda, there's something I'd like to say."
She swallowed her last bite and said, "Yes Link darling. What is it?"
"I..."
"Princess!" A soldier called from the northern field.
"Everytime I'm about to say it." I muttered under my breath.
"Princess! I'm so glad we've found you. Your presence is needed at the castle." The head soldier informed her.
"I've told you Clavius. All matters were to be handled by my father today. I'm on a personal day."
"Your father has gone missing Your Highness." Zelda and I exchanged looks of horror. Just when I was beginning to think Zelda and I could finally settle down and spend more time together, another crisis comes along. I haven't rested since twilight spread throughout Hyrule and now that my romantic afternoon with the girl whom I still haven't told her I love her is ruined, I have no choice but to ride back to the castle.
As we mounted, Zelda looked at me with guilt in her eyes. "I'm sorry my dear."
"Zelda, I understand. We have to find your father." She leaned over Maybelle's left shoulder and tried to kiss me. I leaned as far over Epona's right shoulder that I could and our lips barely met. "Later." I said. We rode for the castle, all the while I was thinking about when I would finally confess my love of Zelda.
